ArticleBMC public health2020
Analysis of lead, arsenic and calcium content in the hair of children with autism spectrum disorder.
Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Relationship Between Calcium and Gut Microbial Composition and Metabolic Pathways in Children with Autism.Metabolites · 2026Article
- Elemental and Isotopic Profiles in Blood and Urine of Jordanian Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Preliminary Comparative Study with Neurotypical Children.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Human hair as a diagnostic tool in medicine.Biochemistry and biophysics reports · 2025Review
- Arsenic Exposure and Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children: A Cross‑Sectional Study.Annals of global health · 2025Article
- Association of metallic elements with telomere length in children with autism spectrum disorder.PeerJ · 2025Article
- Update of the risk assessment of inorganic arsenic in food.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2024Article
- Interaction of Heavy Metal Lead with Gut Microbiota: Implications for Autism Spectrum Disorder.Biomolecules · 2023Review
- Review
- Bacterial Modification of the Association Between Arsenic and Autism-Related Social Behavior Scores.Exposure and health · 2023Article
- Article
- Association between heavy metals exposure (cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury) and child autistic disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Article
- Metal Profiles in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Crosstalk between Toxic and Essential Metals.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- The potential involvement of inhaled iron (Fe) in the neurotoxic effects of ultrafine particulate matter air pollution exposure on brain development in mice.Particle and fibre toxicology · 2022Article
- Associations among prenatal and postnatal arsenic, lead, and cadmium exposures and motor development in 3-year-old children: a longitudinal birth cohort study in Taiwan.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- The position of geochemical variables as causal co-factors of diseases of unknown aetiology.SN applied sciences · 2022Review
- Maternal lead exposure induces sex-dependent cerebellar glial alterations and repetitive behaviors.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2022Article
- Oxidative stress indices in ASD children in Sub-Sahara Africa.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2021Article
- Combining in vitro assays and mathematical modelling to study developmental neurotoxicity induced by chemical mixtures.Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) · 2021Article
- (Ascorb)ing Pb Neurotoxicity in the Developing Brain.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Review
- The status of chemical elements in the blood plasma of children with autism spectrum disorder in Tunisia: a case-control study.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExplanation of the pathogenesis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is one of the most significant challenges for scientists today. It is believed that a major pathogenetic factor of this condition is epigenetic changes caused by environmental factors, including toxic metals (cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), aluminium (Al), and arsenic (As)). The nervous system may also be affected by deficiencies of both micro- and macroelements (e.g. calcium (Ca), zinc (Zn)). The aim of the study was to analyze the concentrations of Pb, As, and Ca in the hair of children with ASD and a control group.
methodsThe materials for the study comprised hair samples collected from 30 children diagnosed with ASD (case group) and 30 children randomly selected from the general population of Bialystok and surrounding region (control group). Concentrations of Pb, As, and Ca were tested with electron microscopy scanning method. Next, the content of the analyzed elements in the hair was assessed as well as their impact on autism development in the children and the mutual interactions between them. The obtained results were statistically analyzed with Statistica PL 12.5., using the Mann-Whitney U test, and Spearman correlation coefficient.
resultsMean Ca level in the hair of the case group was lower than the mean level of this element in the control group. Mean As and Pb concentration in the hair of children with ASD was statistically significantly higher than the mean concentration of this element in the hair of children without neurological disorders. Statistically insignificant weak positive correlations between Ca and As content and negative between Ca and Pb in the hair of children from the case group were noted. Also, statistically significant mean positive correlations between Pb and As were observed.
conclusionsIn this small study, according to the observations, children diagnosed with ASD suffer from Ca deficiency and toxic metal overload (As and Pb). These abnormalities may play the main role, as an environmental factor, in the pathogenesis of the analyzed disorder.
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